SYLLABUS
POLITICAL SCIENCE 478: THE CONDUCT OF AMERICAN FOREIGN RELATIONS
San Diego State University Spring Semester 2016, Section 1, Schedule #22700
Thursdays 4:00 pm to 6:40 pm, ENS-291
Ronald J. Bee, Instructor
Office: 123 Nasatir Hall
Phone: 619-594-6944 (SDSU); Email: rbee@mail.sdsu.edu
Office Hours: Thursdays 2:45-3:45 pm or by appointment
Course Goals and Student Learning Objectives
In this course, you will learn about the theories, processes, trends, and evolution in the conduct
of American foreign relations from our origins under President Washington through President
Obama. We will examine how our past has influenced our present policies. We will also
explore how foreign policy gets made today based upon the Constitutional provisions laid out for
the executive and legislative branches of the American government, including the “invitation to
struggle” over the economic, political, and military applications of American interests abroad.
Beyond two required texts, you will read documents, speeches, and articles on blackboard that
relate directly to historical events, challenges, and approaches taken in the conduct of American
foreign relations.
The premise and goal behind this course will take you toward a modern day understanding of the
issues and choices facing American leaders and citizens fifteen years after the events of
September 11, 2001. You live in an important age where foreign policy matters, where learning
the facts and principles of the American experience abroad counts as much as applying them
toward the development of your own views at home. In this course, you will have that
opportunity to develop your own point of view.
Student learning objectives in this course include:
1. Understanding the concepts and theories of American foreign policy-making including
international liberalism, realism, and constructivism.
2. Understanding the Constitutional roles, responsibilities, and powers of US governmental
and non-governmental actors in foreign policy making.
3. Understanding the evolution of historical economic, political, and military trends in
America from its origins as a fledgling democracy to its becoming a world superpower.
By the end of this course students should have a clear historical sense of the interplay
between world events and approaches to the conduct of American foreign relations.
4. Understanding the influence of the Cold War and the attacks of September 11, 2001 on
the current conduct of United States relations abroad.
5. Understanding the breadth and depth of functional issues involved in conducting
American foreign relations, including identifying current major economic, political, and
security issues and policy challenges.
6. Via two policy memos, students will learn how to write clearly and in the active voice on
a current foreign policy issue, describing background, stakes, at least three competing
options, and choosing one of them as a personal recommendation.
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7. Students will learn how to think and write critically with a view toward thoughtful
analysis of alternatives for either managing or resolving a current American foreign
policy problem.
To succeed, you must show up, master the readings from the assigned books and articles on
blackboard (www.blackboard.sdsu.edu ), think critically and participate in class (not just
occupy a chair), learn to express your views effectively on a foreign policy topic in a policy
memo format, and do well on the midterm and final exams (multiple choice and essay format).
When appropriate, we will discuss how current events relate directly to the course goals and
student learning objectives, which include engaging in the subject matter by reading a newspaper
or magazine of your choice online, tracking a news website of your choice, and/or paying
attention to TV and radio news shows that discuss current issues in US foreign policy.
Attendance and participation remain key to your success in this class. Lectures will help you
indentify and reinforce specific trends in the readings that will appear on exams. Participation
includes engaging in class discussion, showing up at office hours, and sharing information and
opinions about our subject matter either online via email, blackboard, or during class.
If you take this class as a general education requirement, your goals will also include:
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Goal 1: Explore and recognize basic terms, concepts, and domains of the social and
behavioral sciences.
Goal 2: Comprehend diverse theories and methods of the social and behavioral sciences.
Goal 3: Identify human behavioral patterns across space and time and discuss their
interrelatedness and distinctiveness.
Goal 4: Enhance understanding of the social world through the application of conceptual
frameworks from the social and behavioral sciences to first-hand engagement with
contemporary issues.
Students with Disabilities: If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need
accommodations for this class, you must contact Student Disability Services at (619) 594-6473.
To avoid any delay in the receipt of your accommodations, you should contact Student Disability
Services as soon as possible. Please note that accommodations do not happen retroactively, and
that I cannot provide accommodations based upon disability until I have received an
accommodation letter from Student Disability Services. Thank you for your cooperation.
Books:
1. Joseph S. Nye, Jr., and David A. Welch, Understanding Global Conflict and
Cooperation: An Introduction to Theory and History, Ninth Edition, Pearson, 2013.
REQUIRED
2. Donald M. Snow and Patrick J. Haney, American Foreign Policy in the New Era:
Pearson, 2013. REQUIRED
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Course Requirements and Grading:
1. Mandatory Attendance/Participation (10% of your grade) -- If you miss class more
than once during the semester, your letter grade will drop by one full grade for each
lecture you miss. Participation means participating in the class discussion, engaging in
the subject matter not just occupying a chair. Participation also means staying for the
whole class. When sick or otherwise incapacitated, you will require proof of illness or
unusual circumstances, and when possible via email before you miss class.
2. Midterm (30% of your grade) – The midterm will include multiple choice questions
and an essay on the material covered up to that point. MARCH 10, 2016.
3. Two separate policy memos--One 3-page and one 2-page Policy Memo on an issue in
American Foreign Relations of your choice (30% of your grade, 15% for each
memo) – For more on the policy memos, see below. Due Dates: 3-PAGE MEMO DUE
FEBRUARY 18, 2016; 2-PAGE MEMO DUE APRIL 14, 2016.
4. Final Exam (30% of your grade), covering readings and lectures, and the entire course.
The final will include multiple choice and essays. MAY 12, 2016 4-6:00pm
Grading: 100 points possible: A, 91-100 points; A-, 89-90 points; B+, 86-88 points; B, 81-85
points; B-,79-80 points; C+, 76-78 points; C, 71-75 points, C-, 69-70 points; D+, 66-68 points;
D, 61-65 points, D-, 59-61 points; F, 58 or less points.
Do not plagiarize or cheat! Plagiarism or cheating of any type, shape, or form will cause you
real world of global hurt. During exams, no cell phones are allowed; if you use one, you fail the
course. Plagiarism is defined as submitting someone else’s work without proper citation;
buying a paper from a paper-mill, copying sentences, phrases, paragraphs, or idea’s from
someone else’s work published or unpublished online or in print without giving the original
author credit; piecing together phrases, ideas, and sentences from a variety of sources to write an
essay; and submitting your own paper in more than one course. For information on plagiarism,
cheating and their consequences, including failing an assignment, receiving a lower grade,
failing a course, or expulsion, see: http://infotutor.sdsu.edu/plagiarism.
The Policy Memos: As a deputy to Secretary of State John Kerry, you must prepare two
position papers (double spaced, #12 Font, memo #1, 3 pages, memo #2 on a separate topic, 2
pages) on a pressing issue in American foreign relations. An additional page for each memo will
contain your sources or endnotes—and no Wikipedia. You should write the memo in clear,
persuasive, and succinct prose, have a title that indicates your view, adopt a school of thought as
your approach, acknowledge at least two other approaches, and recommend a course of action.
Your sources should include government sources (state.gov, whitehouse.gov, the Congressional
Research Service), independent journals (like Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy), and articles
(online or print) pertinent to your topic.
Your memos must have four separate but related sections with these exact sub-headings: I.
Background and Context of the problem (How did we get here?); II. Stakes for American
foreign policy (Why should we care, economically, politically, and militarily?); III. Options for
resolving the problem or issue (What should we do? You must provide at least three different
options, assessing pluses and minuses of each); and IV. Your specific Recommendation, based
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on your analysis delivered in sections I-III (What do you think we should do, and why?). What
you argue will remain less important that how you argue it. Pick something you care about; your
passions always argue more convincingly than your platitudes. Do not write a book report, and
get to the point and say what you mean! An effective policy memo persuades the reader to
choose your recommended option between diverse options.
For some tips on active writing, also refer to your course documents on blackboard: “Nine Easy
Steps to Longer Sentences,” Active vs. Passive Voice video, and USCIS Plain Language: Active
Voice video.
Part I: The Setting of US Foreign Relations
January 21: COURSE OVERVIEW
January 28: ORIGINS, APPROACHES, AND THEORIES OF AMERICAN FOREIGN
RELATIONS
Readings: 1. Joe Nye, Chapter 1, “Are There and Enduring Logics of Conflict and
Cooperation in World Politics?” pp. 1-37 and Chapter 2, “Explaining Conflict and
Cooperation: Tools and Techniques of the Trade”; 2. Donald Snow, “Preface,” pp xi-xviii
and Chapter 1, “A New Foreign Policy Era”; 3. “City Upon a Hill” (Document #1 on
Blackboard); and 4. George Washington’s Farewell Address (Document 2 on
Blackboard)
February 4: THE CURRENT CONTEXT OF FOREIGN POLICY: THE COLD WAR
Readings 1. The Atlantic Charter (Document #3 on Blackboard); 2. FDR’s Pearl Harbor
Speech (Document #4 on Blackboard); 3. George Kennan, “The Sources of Soviet
Conduct,” (Document 5 on Blackboard); 4. Joe Nye, Chapter 5, “The Cold War” pp. 141192.
February 11: BEYOND THE COLD WAR 1989-2001
Readings: 1. Joe Nye, Chapter 6, “Post Cold War Conflict, Cooperation, Flashpoints”
pp. 192-254; 2. Donald Snow, Chapter 2, “Paradigm Lost: The Cold War to the Present,”
pp. 53-66; 3. Ronald Reagan, “Tear Down this Wall” (Document #6 on Blackboard); 4.
Anthony Lake, “From Containment to Enlargement,” (Blackboard Document #7); 5.
George W. Bush, “West Point Speech” (Document #8 on Blackboard).
Part II: The Actors
February 18: THE PRESIDENT AND MAKING THE WORLD SAFE?
Reading: 1. Donald Snow, Chapter 4, “The President,” pp. 93-128; 2. Woodrow Wilson
Speech “Making the World Safe for Democracy” (Blackboard Document #9); 3. George W.
Bush, Speech to the National Endowment of Democracy (Blackboard Document #10).
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THREE- PAGE MEMO DUE
February 25: THE ROLE OF EXECUTIVE AGENCIES
Reading: 1. Donald Snow, Chapter 5, “The Role of Executive Agencies,” pp. 132-172.
March 3: CONGRESS AND FOREIGN POLICY
Reading: 1. Donald Snow, Chapter 6, “Congress and Foreign Policy,” pp. 172-210.
March 10: IN CLASS MIDTERM EXAM (Multiple Choice and Essay)
March 17: OUTSIDE INFLUENCES: INTERESTS GROUPS, THINK TANKS, MEDIA
Readings: 1. Donald Snow, Chapter 7, “Interest Groups and Think Tanks,” pp. 215-247;
2. Snow, Chapter 8, “The Public and the Media” pp. 248-288.
Part III: Functional Foreign Policy Problems,
March 24: SECURITY AND TERRORISM AFTER 9/11
Reading: 1. Donald Snow, Chapter 9, “Traditional Issues in National Security,” pp. 297326 and Chapter 10, “Contemporary Security Problems in an Asymmetrical World,” pp.
327-362; 2. Joe Nye, Chapter 8: “The Information Revolution and Transnational Actors,”
pp. 285-315; and 3. Article by David C. Rapoport on the Four Waves of Modern
Terrorism (Blackboard Document #11).
March 28 to April 1: Spring Break, NO CLASS
April 7: Guest Speaker on U.S.-Afghan Relations (Reading TBD)
April 14: Guest Speaker on U.S.-Iraq Relations (Reading TBD)
SECOND 2-PAGE MEMO DUE
April 21: Guest Speaker on U.S.-China Relations (Reading TBD)
April 28: ECONOMICS, GLOBALIZATION, AND FOREIGN POLICY
Reading: 1. Donald Snow, Chapter 11, “Economics and Foreign Policy,” pp. 363-401
and 12, “Economic and Political Instruments of Foreign Policy,” pp. 402-430; and 3. Joe Nye,
Chapter 7, “Globalization and Interdependence” pp. 255-83.
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May 5: The Future of Foreign Policy and Review for the Final Exam
Reading: 1. Joe Nye, Chapter 9: “What Can We Expect in the Future?” pp. 315-347. 2.
Robert Kagan, “Superpowers Don’t Get to Retire: What Our Tired Country Still Owes
the World,” New Republic, May 26, 2014. (Blackboard Document #12) also available
online here: http://www.newrepublic.com/article/117859/allure-normalcy-what-americastill-owes-world; 3. Snow, Chapter 13, “Trans-State Issues and American Foreign
Policy” pp. 430-460.
May 12: Final Exam 4:00-6:00 pm
GODSPEED AND GOOD LUCK
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